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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25730980">You Could Destroy Me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooGoodToBeBad/pseuds/TooGoodToBeBad'>TooGoodToBeBad</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blue Lions Students (Fire Emblem)-centric, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Garreg Mach Monastery (Fire Emblem), Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:06:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,219</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25730980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooGoodToBeBad/pseuds/TooGoodToBeBad</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>He shut his eyes and let out a long sigh. “It’s complicated, Ingrid.”<br/>“People usually are,” she shot back. “I thought we were friends, Sylvain.”<br/>He was taken aback by that. “We are, and nothing will ever change that.”<br/>“So why can’t you be honest with me?”</em>
</p><p>After Felix refuses to play mediator, Ingrid and Sylvain are forced to talk it out.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Sylvain Jose Gautier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You Could Destroy Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The eerily peaceful silence of the dormitories was easily broken by the sound of footsteps ringing through the hall. While the sight of Sylvain making his way through the dormitory was not unusual in and of itself, right now his languid saunter was nowhere to be seen, and he was striding with a sense of purpose and urgency that few people ever saw outside of the battlefield. He didn’t even show this much energy making his way to the regular war councils.</p><p>As he continued to walk, several unpleasant thoughts raced through his mind. The last few hours had not gone well, and in retrospect, perhaps he could have handled the whole thing just a bit better. But the timing was seriously bad (the day before they started their march towards Fort Merceus, of all days!), and he couldn’t help but wonder if things would have gone better if there wasn’t the cloud of war hanging above their heads. Still, that was all spilled milk now, and he needed the only person who could get him out of this mess - Felix Fraldarius (although whether or not it would be in one piece depended on whatever mood he found him in).</p><p>His brow furrowed some more and he could feel the agitation eating at his gut and clawing its way to his heart. He really was not in the mood to be seen by anyone. Unfortunately, he saw Annette.</p><p>“Oh, hi Sylvain,” she said uneasily. “Are you going to Felix’s room?”</p><p>Despite the unease in his body, he did his best to put on his easy-going smile. “Why, yes, Annette. Is he in his room?”</p><p>She shifted nervously and her bright blue eyes darted around to avoid making eye contact. “Well yes, but now’s not a good time-”</p><p>“Why?” he raised an eyebrow. “Is he asleep already? It’s not that late.”</p><p>“Well, no, but right now is <em> really </em>not a good time, because-”</p><p>He brushed past her. “I’m sure I can handle Felix’s bad moods, but thanks for the concern.”</p><p>“No, you really shouldn’t go in there!” now she was chasing after him. “I was told not to let you in if I saw you on your way there!” she squeaked.</p><p>“I’ll just say I didn’t see you,” he waved his hand nonchalantly and stopped just outside his door. “Felix? Are you in there?”</p><p>“No,” was the gruff reply from the other side of the door. </p><p>Sylvain, however, was not one to be easily swayed from doing what he wanted. He opened the door and could barely stop himself from spilling everything. </p><p>“Bud, I really need your help right now. I think I’ve made the biggest mistake of my… life.”</p><p>Now he’d just made the second biggest mistake of his life. Inside the room with Felix was the absolute last person he wanted to see right now: Ingrid Galatea.</p><p>She had given him countless dirty looks in his life, but this one was easily the worst of them all, and barring some extremely unlikely circumstances, nothing would ever top it.</p><p>“What do you think you’re doing here?” she glowered, her voice full of pain.</p><p>He forced a smile. “I’m here for a long overdue heart-to-heart with my brother Felix.”</p><p>“Well I’m already here, and he’s already talking to me, so go bother someone else.”</p><p>Felix only sighed. “You guys best get a hold of yourselves; you’ll wake up the monastery if you start a shouting match.”</p><p>Sylvain just groaned and leaned against the wall. “Why are you even here, Ingrid? Go talk to Ashe or something.”</p><p>She nearly raised her voice at him. “I wish I could talk to Ashe, because unlike you two, he’s not a total jackass!”</p><p>Now Felix got out of his chair and glared at her. “I am many things, Ingrid, but I am not a total jackass.”</p><p>His words seemingly went unnoticed by either of them. Sylvain brushed off her words and shrugged. “Well Felix is my oldest friend. I’ve known him longer than you, so he should be helping me right now.”</p><p>“Felix was my brother-in-law long ago, so I have more right to come to him than you! We’re practically family, the two of us!” Now she was standing dangerously close to him, their eyes inches away but so full of sharp venom. “Go find some easy woman who’ll lend you an ear in exchange for your bed.”</p><p>Those words in particular stung. If her words just a few hours ago felt like a knife to the heart, these ones felt like they were actively twisting the blade and spreading the damage. “That is so unfair,” he said softly. “I thought we were past that.”</p><p>“I’ve had it with both of you,” Felix spoke up again, grabbing his coat from his chair. “Neither of you seem like friends tonight, and my night is now ruined beyond repair. I’m heading out before I feel the need to cut you both into pieces.” </p><p>He gave them one last glance as he headed out the door. “I refuse to fix this. Do it yourselves. If I come back and you guys are still at it, so help me Goddess, I will kill you both myself.” </p><p>Then he slammed the door shut.</p><p>Ingrid only groaned at that before sitting at the foot of Felix’s bed, while Sylvain stayed rooted to his spot, leaning lazily against the wall. </p><p>“He’s not really gonna kill us, is he?” he asked after a few minutes of silence.</p><p>She refused to spare him a glance. “I really could not care less, so long as he kills you first.” </p><p>He chuckled at that despite himself and ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s fair, I suppose.”</p><p>The silence returned to the room, and although Ingrid was only a few feet away from him (it wasn’t a large room), Sylvain had never felt more distant from her than he did now. The emptiness between them was crushing him and felt like lead on his shoulders. “Should we just pretend we’re alright when he comes back?” he asked uneasily.</p><p>“Pretend all you want,” she muttered bitterly. “It’s all you ever do, anyway.”</p><p>He only sighed at that as she stabbed him again with her barbed words. The silence was only getting louder now, and the uneasiness bubbling in the pit of his stomach was now worming its way through his veins. His guilt was clinging to him like a second skin. In the back of his mind, he knew that he was risking everything by not saying a thing.</p><p>“Ingrid.”</p><p>“Save your breath,” she spat out. “I’m not interested in hearing it.”</p><p>“I think you’ll want to hear this one. I’m sorry for all of this.”</p><p>He could see her shoulders tense at his words, but she still wasn’t looking at him. When she spoke again, her biting tone was replaced with something much worse: a voice on the verge of breaking from the anguish she felt. “I don’t believe you.”</p><p>He straightened his back. “Maybe it’d help if you looked at me. Please, Ingrid?” he pleaded.</p><p>She slowly nodded her head and met his gaze. While her eyes were no longer piercing and angry, they were still full of pain. </p><p>He continued. “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did back there. You were being sincere and honest about how you felt, and I laughed it off. I shouldn’t have, and I definitely should not have told you that the way you felt was wrong. I really do feel bad about the whole thing.”</p><p>Her expression began to soften, but the sadness was still written on her face. “You had no right to tell me how to feel.”</p><p>“Definitely,” he sighed. “That was uncalled for.”</p><p>Another silence filled the room, but this one was not as bitter or angry. She probably wasn’t going to forgive him right away, but at least he’d said his piece. The sooner they could brush this under the rug, the better. </p><p>She let out a sad little laugh that was absolutely devoid of joy. “I was stuck on you for so long. You were there for me when Glenn died, a pain from which I never thought I would be able to move on. I found it in me to learn to love again. I found the courage to tell you, and you just... you broke me, Sylvain, and I don’t even know why you of all people chose to do that to me,” she sobbed, her voice on the edge of breaking under the weight of sadness it carried.</p><p>“I have no excuses for what I did.”</p><p>“I don’t want them; I want answers,” she stared at him as a single tear made its way down her face. “Just tell me why you pushed me away.”</p><p>He shut his eyes and let out a long sigh. “It’s complicated, Ingrid.”</p><p>“People usually are,” she shot back. “I thought we were friends, Sylvain.”</p><p>He was taken aback by that. “We are, and nothing will ever change that.”</p><p>“So why can’t you be honest with me?”</p><p>His voice died in his throat and he couldn’t hold her gaze any longer, so he resorted to staring at his boots. “Because I’m not brave enough.”</p><p>It was her turn to look surprised now. “What do you mean?” she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper. </p><p>He could feel in his chest that the dam was about to burst, and he was going to spill his guts onto the floor between them. “There’s not much in this world that scares me anymore. But you? You scare me. You could destroy me, Ingrid.”</p><p>“Sylvain,” she pleaded. “You’re not making any sense right now.”</p><p>The words were spilling out of him now, attempting to escape before he swallowed them whole. “I’ve loved you for a very long time now, and it’s because I feel this way that I decided that I could never have you. I only know how to hurt people, Ingrid. I promised myself before that no matter how many hearts I broke, I would never break yours. I could never do that to you. For the longest time, you were all I’ve known. I’d never forgive myself if I lost you. I can’t lose that part of my life.”</p><p>Now the tears were openly streaming down his face, but now everything was out in the open. There was no turning back from here.</p><p>“You feel that way? But why-”</p><p>“I don’t deserve you, Ingrid. I have nothing to give you. I would only cause you so much pain. One day, you’d wake up and realize that I’m a disease, and then you’d leave me. I’d have no one else to blame but myself if I lost you,” his voice finally broke into a sob. “You deserve so much better than me. I’m not a good person.”</p><p>She slowly rose from her seat and closed the distance between them. When he made no attempt to move away, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. He pressed his face into her shoulder as he cried.</p><p>“Sylvain,” she said softly. “I know you better than anyone, so believe me when I say that you are so much more than your shortcomings and mistakes, and you’re more than just some noble with a Crest.” </p><p>He only cried more, helpless in her warm embrace as he tried to put himself back together again. </p><p>“You know what I see when I look at you?” she continued, and although he couldn’t see her, he could hear the little quiver in her voice and knew she was crying too. “I see a man who was dealt a bad hand in life, but despite all of that, he rose above it to become something more. You’re loyal, kind, determined, and brave, and so many other wonderful things. You’ve always tried to do the right thing, and you were there for me when no one else was.”</p><p>He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself, but still kept his face pressed against her shoulder.</p><p>“Please, Sylvain,” she whispered. “Please look at me.”</p><p>She let him go, and he untangled himself from her grip to meet her eyes. </p><p>“You are so much more than what you are not. I see past the masks you’ve worn, and I know who you truly are,” she said. “I love you Sylvain, and I mean it.”</p><p>He only shook his head sadly. “I love you too, and that’s why I need you to be happy.”</p><p>The tiniest of smiles formed on her lips. “That’s the problem. You make me happy.”</p><p>He wiped his eyes at that and tried to offer a tiny smile back. “I don’t think I know how to love, Ingrid.”</p><p>“That’s okay. We’re all learning here. Just know that I have loved you for so long.”</p><p>All of the burdens weighing his soul down felt so much lighter, and he felt so much freer now. The guilt clinging to him vanished into nothingness.</p><p>“Life’s a long journey, Sylvain. Let me keep you company.”</p><p>He fell back into the warmth of her embrace and held her tightly. “I’d like that very much. I’ll try to do right by you.”</p><p>“I know you will,” she cooed softly. “I know you will.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Feedback and comments are appreciated! I feel like I could have handled the ending a bit better, but no matter how many times I re-read it nothing was popping up so I just left it as is.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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